Red Oak Park is narrow and wooded with an opening at its SE corner. The woods catch water from houses and streets upstream. The watershed used to be wetland prairie. Its concrete streets and storm drains dump into the park and cause flash floods during rain, eroding soil and creating a ditch-like stream and leaving tree roots bare. The Park Division of Fayetteville, Arkansas, is trying to find a way to protect the mature hardwood trees in the park and make the space safer and more accessible.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Please vote for Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas

Please vote for Lioneld Jordan for mayor

Lioneld Jordan has been my choice for mayor of Fayetteville since the beginning of discussion of the upcoming election more than a year ago.There is no one in the race who can be expected to do more to protect the environment of our city, the people of our city or make better decisions for the future of our city.Lioneld was born in Fayetteville. I wasn't. I have never been able to call any other place home even when I worked in Little Rock for a few years. But, if anyone loves Fayetteville more than I do, it is Lioneld.And no one in public life since I first attended graduate school at the University of Arkansas in 1966 has more consistently earned my respect.I have found him always willing to listen to the concerns of everyone. The fact that he understands and relates to working people in my Town Branch neighborhood in south Fayetteville has been very important to us in recent years.He supported our effort to save a parcel of wetland prairie from an intense development as we raised money to make the land a city nature park. The project would have wedged 48 apartments into a beautiful and old single-family neighborhood with no concern for the sensitive environment. He voted to protect the Wilson Spring property, a much bigger and more unusually delicate ecosystem than almost any place this side of the Buffalo River,He earned the endorsement of the Sierra Club in part for those votes and for his support of parks and trails and the steep, timbered hillsides of our city.He has earned the endorsement of the firefighters and police officers of our city. He has earned the endorsement of the union of members of the staff and faculty of the University of Arkansas, where he has worked for decades.He has earned the respect and endorsement of the local Green Party. Among people I know, he has strong support among those whose statewide and national votes will be for candidates of both Democratic and Republican parties. His record stands on its own. He is the kind of person that most members of both major parties want to see on their ticket.And he has been endorsed by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.As a member of the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology, I am only one of many who have voted for Lioneld, because he is strong in all the areas of OMNI's concern. I am among the members of the Carbon Caps Task Force who support Lioneld.I have friends who support the Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, Audubon Arkansas, the National Audubon Society, Quail Unlimited and many unaffiliated hunters and fishermen and bird-watchers and nature lovers who have expressed support for Lioneld.Most important, however, are the working people of Fayetteville who know and respect Lioneld and believe that he will continue to give them a voice in city government, even as he works to create new jobs in the city and housing for low-income residents and to protect the environment while negotiating the best possible development plans as our city continues to grow.Lioneld respects everyone and shows no prejudice toward anyone. He listens to all and learns and strives to make decisions fair to all. He is indeed the real deal.Aubrey James Shepherd1101 South Duncan AvenueFayetteville, 72701444-6072